Bucks - Consultation (please scroll to the bottom for the Central Beds, Luton and Slough policy consultation)

Updating HR Policies Consultation - May 2023 

1. Introduction: The St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust is consulting on a proposal to move from the previous version of the following policies to the policies provided by Schools HR Cooperative, our HR provider:

• Adoption Pay and Adoption Leave Policy for Support Staff
• Adoptions Pay and Adoption Leave Policy for Teachers
• Agency Worker Regulations Policy
• Alcohol and Drug Abuse Policy
• Annual Leave Policy*
• Bullying and Harassment Policy
• Career Break Scheme
• Childcare Disqualification Checks
• Dealing with allegations of abuse against teachers and other staff
• Flexible working policy
• ICT usage policy
• Managing Menopause at Work Policy**
• Maternity Leave and Pay Policy for Support Staff
• Maternity Leave and Pay Policy for Teachers
• Ordinary Parent Leave Policy
• Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay
• Paternity Leave and Pay Policy
• Probationary Procedure for Support Staff
• Redundancy Policy
• Safer Recruitment and Selection Policy and Procedure
• School Closure Policy
• Shared Parental Leave and Pay Policy
• Social Media Policy
• Special Leave Policy
• Staff exit procedure
• Stress Management Policy
• Violence at Work Policy

*Annual leave is an intrinsic part of locally agreed terms and conditions that the Trust recognised as each school joined the Academy Trust.  Annual leave entitlement will continue to be calculated based on the terms negotiated locally and the current terms and conditions around annual leave continue to apply. 

**The intention is that this policy will be fully implemented within 2 years.

The change does not affect the HR related policies listed below:

CES Polices all Catholic Schools are required to use:

• Appraisal for teachers
• Appraisal for support staff
• Capability Policy and Procedure
• Grievance resolution policy and procedure
• Disciplinary policy
• Sickness absence policy

Other HR policies not affected

• Code of conduct
• Whistleblowing

The change affects 7 schools in the Trust:

• St Joseph’s Primary School, Buckinghamshire
• St Joseph’s Infant School, Buckinghamshire
• St Louis Primary School, Buckinghamshire
• St Edward Junior School, Buckinghamshire
• Our Lady’s Primary School, Buckinghamshire
• St Peter’s Primary School, Buckinghamshire
• St Michael's Catholic School, Buckinghamshire

2. Background: 

The reasons why the proposal is being considered are:

• The previous policies were written and supported by another HR provider and will not be updated to reflect the most current legislation. As a Trust we are committed to ensuring we follow the most up to date employment legislation that will be reflected in the HR policies attached to this proposal.
• Some policies across schools are very old and may not reflect best practice and there is no mechanism to keep them up to date with legislative or best practice standards.
• Policies currently held by schools would not be subject to regular and routine scrutiny by professional associations in the way that is made possible by SchoolsHR.
• It will be very challenging for the Trust to operate across different processes and procedures and will limit our capacity to support colleagues with clarity.

The benefits that will be achieved by the proposed changes are:

• Clearer outlines on the responsibilities of both the employer and employee.
• The policies are negotiated by SchoolsHR in consultation with Trade Union Representatives in relevant authorities.  The St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust remains committed to working with professional associations and will continue to achieve this outcome through the adoption of SchoolsHR policies.

3. Details of proposal

• Please see below list for the documents digitally attached to this proposal.  Once adopted, further updates to these policies may be made by SchoolsHR as necessary.

4. Consultation

The consultation timeline is as follows: 

• 24 May - Consultation document and relevant policies are sent to Unions.
• 24 May – Launch consultation and explain the process to Trust staff. Digital copies of the relevant policies made available to all staff. This constitutes the start of the formal consultation process.
• 24 May 2023 – 12 July 2023 – Staff read the policies and have the opportunity to talk to their trade unions and representatives should they wish to. Opportunities for staff to discuss issues on an individual basis with a member of the Trust Central team and a representative from Schools HR are available on request.  To make such a request, please contact admin@stcat.co.uk
• 12 July (noon) – End of consultation period
• 12 July – Responses to proposal are collated by the Clerk to Directors and shared these with the Board of Directors
• 13 July - The Board of Directors adopts the policies or initiates a further period of consultation if they propose amendments not previously consulted upon.
• 14 July – The Clerk to Directors communicates Board of Directors decision to staff

 Please provide your comments and feedback to consultation by emailing consultation@stcat.co.uk. 

5. Implementation

If the proposed policies are adopted by the Board of Directors following the consultation period, policies will take effect from 1 September 2023.  

Policy reference table: 

n/a  - we can find no equivalent policy applicable to the Bucks schools.   

Proposed policies to be adopted: 

Current policies (all Bucks schools):

Current policies relevant to St Michael's only: 

Central Beds, Luton and Slough - Consultation

Adoption of new HR Policies

1. Introduction

St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust is consulting on a proposal to adopt two new policies provided by Schools HR Cooperative, our HR provider:

• Career Break Scheme Policy
• Managing Menopause at Work Policy (the intention is that this policy will be fully implemented within 2 years)

The change affects 8 schools in the Trust:

• Cardinal Newman Catholic School, Luton
• St Anthony’s Catholic Primary, Slough
• St Ethelbert’s Catholic Primary, Slough
• St Joseph’s Catholic High School, Slough
• St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Primary, Luton
• St Martin de Porres Catholic Primary, Luton
• St Mary’s Catholic Primary, Dunstable
• St Vincent's Catholic Primary, Houghton Regis

2. Background

The reasons why the proposal is being considered are:

• These policies do not exist in the Trust currently.
• As a Trust we are committed to ensuring we follow the most up to date employment legislation that will be reflected in the HR policies attached to this proposal.

The benefits that will be achieved by adopting the proposed policies are:

• Clearer outlines on the responsibilities of both the employer and employee.
• The policies are negotiated by SchoolsHR in consultation with Trade Union Representatives in relevant authorities.  St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust remains committed to working with professional associations and will continue to achieve this outcome through the adoption of SchoolsHR policies.  

3. Details of proposal

Please see below for the documents digitally attached to this proposal.  Once adopted, further updates to these policies may be made by SchoolsHR as necessary.

4. Consultation

 The consultation timeline will be as follows:

• 24 May - Consultation document and relevant policies are sent to Unions.
• 24 May – Launch consultation and explain the process to Trust staff. Digital copies of the relevant policies made available to all staff. This constitutes the start of the formal consultation process.
• 24 May 2023 – 12 July 2023 – Staff read the policies and have the opportunity to talk to their trade unions and representatives should they wish to. Opportunities for staff to discuss issues on an individual basis with a member of the Trust Central team and a representative from Schools HR are available on request.  To make such a request, please contact admin@stcat.co.uk
• 12 July (noon) – End of consultation period
• 12 July – Responses to proposal are collated by the Clerk to Directors and shared these with the Board of Directors
• 13 July - The Board of Directors adopts the policies or initiates a further period of consultation if they propose amendments not previously consulted upon.
• 14 July – The Clerk to Directors communicates Board of Directors decision to staff

Please provide your comments and feedback to consultation by emailing consultation@stcat.co.uk.  

5. Implementation

If the proposed policies are adopted by the Board of Directors, policies will take effect from 1 September 2023.

Proposed new policies: